Giants catcher Nick Hundley provides NL West wisdom

Nine-year veteran Nick Hundley will be the most experienced backup Buster Posey has had since taking over full-time catching duties in 2010.

Photo: Harry How / Harry How / Getty Images

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Nick Hundley had been a major-leaguer for less than a month in 2008 when he found his name in the Padres’ lineup, catching Greg Maddux in one of the Hall of Famer’s final big-league starts.

With jelly legs, Hundley went over the opposing hitters with Maddux, who did all the talking. Hundley asked what kind of signs Maddux wanted with a runner on second base. Maddux told him to flash an even number for an inside pitch and odd for an outside pitch.

When Hundley asked about signs for the different pitches, Maddux started to walk out of the room and said, “I throw 85 now. You’ll catch it.”

Hundley, all of 24 years old, thought to himself, “Oh my gosh. I’m going to go into this game and not know what pitch Greg Maddux is going to throw? If I have 10 passed balls, they’re going to send me back down tomorrow.”

Hundley caught the pitches. He did not get sent down. Nine years and 746 big-league games later, he is with the Giants and is Buster Posey’s backup, the baseball equivalent of a theatrical understudy to a Barrymore.

Hundley caught one Hall of Famer as a rookie and another, Trevor Hoffman, who should join Maddux in 2018. Hundley has been around the game so long he figures he faced Tim Lincecum 50 times: in high school, college and the majors.

Hundley by far will be the most experienced backup Posey has had since he became the everyday catcher in 2010. Hundley knows the league and the National League West, his home for all but 50 games in 2014 with the Orioles.

Hundley also knows the Giants’ staff, particularly new closer Mark Melancon. The only two free agents the Giants signed to big-league contracts this winter were batterymates at the University of Arizona.

Fans viewed Hundley’s acquisition as a sign the Giants wanted an experienced catcher to ease Posey’s burden behind the plate, maybe letting Posey play more games at first base.

Not true.

Manager Bruce Bochy hopes to afford Posey a few more days off, but is still counting on 120 starts from his All-Star catcher.

Hundley — no relation to the father-son catching duo of Randy and Todd Hundley — is here because of a vision that general manager Bobby Evans had about the makeup of the Giants’ bench in 2017. One scenario has Jarrett Parker or Mac Williamson joining Gorkys Hernandez as backup outfielders, with Kelby Tomlinson and Conor Gillaspie on the infield.

Evans thought, “Where am I going to get experience?” Hundley fit the bill and came relatively inexpensively at one year, $2 million.

Although Evans did not specifically set out to add that experience at catcher, his presence could work in the team’s favor. Though pitchers have raved about Trevor Brown’s game-calling, some, like Madison Bumgarner, might be more open to throwing to a more seasoned backup and allow Posey to get a day off when his body demands it.

At 33, Hundley had to recognize his years with 300 or more at-bats are over. Barring an injury to Posey, he is looking at 40 starts.

In an interview on the second day of camp, Hundley said he already has gleaned solid information from Posey. For example, they talked about one of Posey’s great strengths, pitch framing. Hundley is a fan.

“I’m impressed with his ability to communicate with everybody,” Hundley said, “with pitchers, with staff, with security guards, everybody. I’m impressed with his lack of ego.”

Bud Black, who managed Hundley in San Diego, considers Hundley a great communicator, too, with a “genuine high care factor for the team and the pitchers.”

Black had Hundley for seven seasons in San Diego and called him an “aggressive player. On the offensive side, he’s wired to hit. He likes to swing it.”

Which is reflected in his stats. Hundley has walked only 183 times in 2,692 plate appearances. The career .250 hitter has a .303 on-base percentage. He has some pop, which Bochy hopes to see off the bench, but like any Giants catcher, even Posey, handling the staff is the top priority.

“Buster is the best catcher in the game,” Hundley said. “It’s my job now to support him.”

Henry Schulman has covered the San Francisco Giants since 1988, starting with the Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Examiner before moving to the San Francisco Chronicle in 1998. His career has spanned the "Earthquake World Series" in 1989 and the Giants' three World Series championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014. In between, he covered Barry Bonds' controversial career with the Giants, including Bonds ' successful quests for home-run records and his place in baseball's performance-enhancing drugs scandal. Known for his perspective and wit, Henry also appears frequently on radio and television talking Giants, and is a popular follow on Twitter.